Dark Nights and the Bright NY Phil.

11-2-15 SHORT HILLS: I think we’re past peak for foliage color, there’s brown mixed in with the bright colors now, but some trees, oak and beech, are still green.

The change to EST always makes me feel that winter has arrived because it gets dark at 5 PM. We changed all the clocks and timers yesterday.

The days are still quite warm, especially in the afternoon—I dog walked in only a tee shirt today. I recently said that it was November, and we have had no frost here, but I checked the local NOAA listings, and there was actually a low temp of 31° in the middle of October. However, tender annuals, impatiens, pansies, geraniums, are still in bloom around town. We’re still getting some pink roses.

Congrats to KC on the WS. They totally out-played the Mets.

We were at the NY Phil Saturday night. We had dinner at Café Fiorello with friend Charlene before the concert. Jaap van Zweden conducted Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A major, K. 488, Inon Barnatan soloist, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, always an audience fav. The evening opener was Britten’s Sinphonia da Requiem, a modern, 1940, piece with a very different sound than the following works. Jaap van Zweden is supposed to be on the short list to replace Alan Gilbert as Musical Director on the NY Phil.

The NYT review of the concert by Zachary Woolfe used the adjectives—precise, inventive, memorable, meticulous, sinuous, exotic, seductive, sweet, sunny and amiable, among others. I think he liked it.

New blooms: witch-hazel.


More red berries - English holly.

Rose hip.

Cafe Fiorello.

Lincoln Center Plaza fountain and Met Opera.

David Geffen Hall used to be Avery Fisher Hall - how fleeting is fame?

The NY Phil almost ready to go.